Amtrak lounge car complaints, redacted

[CHamilton]

Amtrak's lounge car complaints are the ██████ of the ██████

 

[Just-Thinking-51]

So not surprised. I do think I have give up on them.

 

[Manny T]

^^ This is must reading! How much is Amtrak spending on black felt tipped pens!

Still anyone who has used an Amtrak cafe car is quite able to fill in those blanks for him or herself.

This is certainly one of the weakest areas of the operation.

I think the Acela might be an exception.

On a recent Acela trip WAS-NYP, I was quite satisfied with my purchases from the cafe car, and the selection was good.

 

[Dakota 400]

My only "complaint" with the operation of the Lounge Car was on the Crescent, departing Washington. The attendant was available in the car, there were customers available to whom she could have made sales, but she could not open the car until reaching Alexandria. To her credit, she did start service just before arrival at the station, but by then, there was a line that had formed almost to the end of the car where the coaches were. Lost revenue opportunities, I know, because I would have purchased more than one before dinner drink if I had been able to do so.

Attendant service on the Sunset Limited was superior! Service on the Southwest Chief quite acceptable.

 

[TiBike]

On long distance trains, only having one person who can staff the cafe is an annoyance. There's no reason other staff couldn't be cross-trained to handle it while the primary person is on breaks.

 

[Bob Dylan]

On long distance trains, only having one person who can staff the cafe is an annoyance. There's no reason other staff couldn't be cross-trained to handle it while the primary person is on breaks.

Only LSAs, who are Paid more, are authorized to handle sales and payments so an additional LSA would be required!
The solution is to open the Cafe after the train leaves WAS, not wait until Alexandria! ( I know the Cafe Attendant/LSA works long days by themselves, and is entitled to breaks, I consider it the worst OBS job on the train!)

This is a problem on most Amtrak trains except for the Keystones, Hiawathas and the Empire Service route where there is No Cafe service between NYP and ALB!!!( except on the Maple Leaf, Adirondack and the Diner on the LSL )

 

[OBS]

Unfortunately, quite often it is the Conductor who does not allow the lounge to open til ALX, so they can finish their ticket lift first....

 

[JoeRids]

Unfortunately, quite often it is the Conductor who does not allow the lounge to open til ALX, so they can finish their ticket lift first....

Once again an example of "is this train being run for the passenger or for the convenience of the crew?"

 

[Ryan]

On long distance trains, only having one person who can staff the cafe is an annoyance. There's no reason other staff couldn't be cross-trained to handle it while the primary person is on breaks.

This thread is missing a number of posts.

I replied to this one explaining that the LSA is personally responsible for all stock onboard, so unless you are going to do a full inventory at each turnover, it won't work.

TiBike replied hand waving the problem away saying that if small business can do it, Amtrak can. (Paraphrasing from memory, my apologies if I misremembered it).

I replied saying that in a small business the people likely know and trust one another. Not the case when you are paired with a random stranger.

I think that brings us up to date.

 

[Ryan]

Unfortunately, quite often it is the Conductor who does not allow the lounge to open til ALX, so they can finish their ticket lift first....

Once again an example of "is this train being run for the passenger or for the convenience of the crew?"

No. You can't lift someone's ticket if they're off in the cafe car standing in line.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Unfortunately, quite often it is the Conductor who does not allow the lounge to open til ALX, so they can finish their ticket lift first....

Once again an example of "is this train being run for the passenger or for the convenience of the crew?"

No. You can't lift someone's ticket if they're off in the cafe car standing in line.

And an unlifted ticket can cause problems if you have other trains on the reservation.

 

[amtrakwolverine]

So do what they do on the wolverines. Announce please do not head to the cafe car until your ticket is scanned.

 

[jebr]

On long distance trains, only having one person who can staff the cafe is an annoyance. There's no reason other staff couldn't be cross-trained to handle it while the primary person is on breaks.

This thread is missing a number of posts.

I replied to this one explaining that the LSA is personally responsible for all stock onboard, so unless you are going to do a full inventory at each turnover, it won't work.

TiBike replied hand waving the problem away saying that if small business can do it, Amtrak can. (Paraphrasing from memory, my apologies if I misremembered it).

I replied saying that in a small business the people likely know and trust one another. Not the case when you are paired with a random stranger.

I think that brings us up to date.

There were a few other posts after that, basically arguing against that point and mentioning that 7-11, Virgin America, Starbucks, and a couple other places have figured out how to make that transition.

I personally stated that it could be solved by simply allowing for an acceptable amount of shrinkage and deal with it on a case-by-case basis. After all, 7-11 doesn't do inventory after every shift change or cashier takes lunch.

 

[Ryan]

Thanks, I didn't see those before the Great Reset.

Those places do count each cashier in and out and hold them responsible for the money. Goods can still walk, but the cash is controlled.

Amtrak has decided that there is no acceptable amount of shrinkage - given the eyeballs on the money that they lose, they likely don't have a choice in the matter.

 

[FormerOBS]

My post from yesterday is also missing, in which I discussed possible reasons for the redactions. Other posts of mine from last evening are also missing from other threads. These involved recommendations for accommodations to serve the specific needs of the O.P. on the Auto Train thread, a comment re. food service changes on 58/59 (post 27 on that thread), and possibly others (I'm not sure). I sure don't feel much like retyping all this stuff. Moderators, can it be retrieved?

I suggested the redactions might be necessitated by the nature of the information request. The request, as I understand it, was for lounge car complaints over a specific period of time. Here's what I think happened: Somebody would have had to pull all complaints, then redact everything that did not involve the lounge car. Many letters contain comments (positive and negative) on numerous topics. This means the black magic marker gets applied to everything involving a late train, a rude (or exceptionally helpful) ticket agent, a dirty restroom in the coach, a snoring passenger across the aisle, poor lighting at the station, etc., etc., etc.

By the way, Amtrak doesn't believe in "an acceptable amount of shrinkage". Amtrak gets a complete inventory of all stock each time a new LSA or LSA-D takes over. Shortages come out of the employee's personal funds. You can safely assume that Amtrak will accept no excuses for shortfalls --- no matter how small. If a person tries to steal from Amtrak, that person is not stealing from Amtrak at all. He is stealing from the employee.

Tom

 

[amtrakwolverine]

I remember reading that a cafe attendant thought he was out of the cup of noodles only to find during a audit that 1 cup did remain it had just fell behind something so he got wrote up.

 

[JoeRids]

Unfortunately, quite often it is the Conductor who does not allow the lounge to open til ALX, so they can finish their ticket lift first....

Once again an example of "is this train being run for the passenger or for the convenience of the crew?"

No. You can't lift someone's ticket if they're off in the cafe car standing in line.

Why is it whenever I post something on this forum criticizing the way Amtrak does things, someone always has to defend Amtrak's ridiculous policies? The sad part is that they probably aren't really policies; they are the wishes of whatever crew one has the (mis)fortune to draw on their particular trip. Thank you, amtrakwolverine, for backing me up; a simple announcement as you stated would solve the above problem; this would allow passengers that boarded before Washington to frequent the lounge, and would allow anyone to access it once their tickets are scanned. If someone disregards this and doesn't get their ticket scanned in a timely manner, then it is their fault. Isn't it time we stop making excuses and start expecting Amtrak, a company we clearly all want to succeed, to come up with some customer centric solutions?

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Unfortunately, quite often it is the Conductor who does not allow the lounge to open til ALX, so they can finish their ticket lift first....

Once again an example of "is this train being run for the passenger or for the convenience of the crew?"

No. You can't lift someone's ticket if they're off in the cafe car standing in line.

Why is it whenever I post something on this forum criticizing the way Amtrak does things, someone always has to defend Amtrak's ridiculous policies? The sad part is that they probably aren't really policies; they are the wishes of whatever crew one has the (mis)fortune to draw on their particular trip. Thank you, amtrakwolverine, for backing me up; a simple announcement as you stated would solve the above problem; this would allow passengers that boarded before Washington to frequent the lounge, and would allow anyone to access it once their tickets are scanned. If someone disregards this and doesn't get their ticket scanned in a timely manner, then it is their fault. Isn't it time we stop making excuses and start expecting Amtrak, a company we clearly all want to succeed, to come up with some customer centric solutions?

I'm neither for or against the way Amtrak does it. Just want to remind people that not everyone can hear the announcements on the PA systems. I am deaf/Hard of Hearing and have difficulty understanding any PA system.

 

[Ryan]

I got curious and consulted the Blue Book. Color me surprised.





No mention is made of Regionals doing anything different out of WAS.

There's more in the section, highly recommended reading.

 

[TiBike]

That's the gist of it. The system seems to be the end, rather than a means to an end. The goal isn't maximum passenger satisfaction, which the way to maximise passenger revenue, but to keep the people in the system happy.

On long distance trains, only having one person who can staff the cafe is an annoyance. There's no reason other staff couldn't be cross-trained to handle it while the primary person is on breaks.

This thread is missing a number of posts.

I replied to this one explaining that the LSA is personally responsible for all stock onboard, so unless you are going to do a full inventory at each turnover, it won't work.

TiBike replied hand waving the problem away saying that if small business can do it, Amtrak can. (Paraphrasing from memory, my apologies if I misremembered it).

I replied saying that in a small business the people likely know and trust one another. Not the case when you are paired with a random stranger.

I think that brings us up to date.

There were a few other posts after that, basically arguing against that point and mentioning that 7-11, Virgin America, Starbucks, and a couple other places have figured out how to make that transition.

I personally stated that it could be solved by simply allowing for an acceptable amount of shrinkage and deal with it on a case-by-case basis. After all, 7-11 doesn't do inventory after every shift change or cashier takes lunch.

 

[Ryan]

No, the goal is not to lose money to theft.

 

[JoeRids]

If one had such a hearing issue and was travelling alone, or with a similarly effected companion, they would be unable to hear ANY announcements regarding ticket taking or cafe openings, and therefore may travel into the cafe car (or anywhere else on the train) and still run the risk of missing the conductor and having their future travel cancelled.

Given your hearing difficulty, AmtrakBlue,do you have a suggestion that would assist in making your travel experience as pleasureable as possible regarding this issue while still giving all passengers the most positive experience that they could have?

 

[TiBike]

No, the goal is not to lose money to theft.

Sorry, wrong. The goal is to make money and to do that you have to balance a number of factors, including inventory shrinkage but also customer convenience and satisfaction. Managing a customer-focused business on the basis of "prevent bad things" means you'll never create good things, only things that find a balance point between customer pain and pleasure.

 

[Ryan]

I encourage you to apply for a job in Amtrak management and bring your vision to reality.

 

[TiBike]

I encourage you to apply for a job in Amtrak management and bring your vision to reality.

Nah, Washington weather sucks for biking :wacko: